A weekly resident lives at the place of work or study during the week and regularly returns to their main residence (leisure location). Weekly residence only applies after 3 months of staying at the weekly location.
- Registration requirement: Weekly residents must register with the residents’ registration office of the weekly-residence municipality within 14 days. Required documents include, among others, an identity document and a home certificate issued by the main-residence municipality.
- Rights & duties: Voting rights remain at the main residence. The radio/TV fee (Serafe) is due only once at the main residence. Social insurances (AHV, etc.) and health insurance remain unchanged.
- Taxes: Income tax is paid where your center of life (Lebensmittelpunkt) is located. For unmarried persons, it is presumed to be at the weekly residence. People with families usually remain taxable at the family residence; in case of doubt, the authorities decide.
- Deductions: Weekly residents can deduct the costs of a second apartment, meals, and trips home from their taxes. For example, with CHF 2,000 monthly rent, around CHF 8,000 per year can be claimed for accommodation costs.
- Cantonal differences: Details vary by canton. In St. Gallen, daily commuting of < 45 minutes is considered reasonable (no weekly residence needed), whereas, for example, Schaffhausen assesses by regionality. Some cantons issue time-limited weekly-resident permits and periodically review the status.
What is a weekly residence?
A weekly residence exists when someone, for professional or educational reasons, lives in a different place during the week than on weekends. Typical reasons include a new job, an apprenticeship/studies, or e.g., a hospital stay without shifting the center of life. It is important that the center of life—i.e., the place of closest personal and social ties—is not at the weekly residence, but remains at the main residence (often the family or home location).
Duration: A stay is recognized as a weekly residence only if it lasts at least three consecutive months or totals more than three months within one year. Shorter stays (e.g., a 2-month project) are not considered official weekly residence and generally do not require registration as such. Weekly residences are also intended as a temporary solution. The longer the situation continues, the more likely the second location will gradually become the new center of life. Therefore, many municipalities review after some time whether the conditions are still met (see Section 5).
Regular return home: A central condition is the regular return to the main residence during non-working time (usually on weekends). Only those who actually go home every weekend, for example, and maintain close ties there (family, partner, clubs, etc.) can permanently maintain weekly-resident status. Otherwise, it is assumed that the center of life shifts to the place of work. For married persons with a shared household, the center of life generally remains with the spouse at the main residence; therefore, a full change of tax domicile usually does not occur. In exceptional cases, however, tax liability can be split, for example if both spouses live away during the week.
Registration as a weekly resident
Anyone establishing a weekly residence must register at the weekly location in addition to their main residence. Nationwide, the rule is: registration must be made within 14 days of moving into the accommodation at the competent office (residents’ registration / resident services). Registration is usually possible in person at the counter; many places also offer online or postal registration. Do not miss this deadline. The registration requirement is mandated by law, and violations may result in fines under cantonal law.
Required documents: The following documents are typically required for registration as a weekly resident:
- Home certificate: A certificate from the main-residence municipality confirming that you are registered there under civil law. This document is also called an interim certificate, certificate for residence away from home, or residence certificate. Note: Due to a change in the law, some municipalities no longer issue home certificates. If you are in such a canton, registration can often be completed without this document (transitional arrangement). In case of doubt, inquire with your main-residence municipality.
- Official ID: Valid identity card or passport (for Swiss citizens) or a foreign nationals’ permit for persons without Swiss citizenship.
- Proof of accommodation: e.g., a copy of the rental agreement or a move-in confirmation from the landlord at the weekly location. This proves where you live during the week.
- Proof of reason for the stay: Such as an employment contract, apprenticeship contract, or university enrollment confirmation. This substantiates why the weekly residence is necessary (purely personal motives such as tax optimization are not sufficient).
- Civil status proof: If relevant, e.g., family booklet, marriage certificate, or registered partnership confirmation. This allows the municipality to consider your family situation (important for tax-domicile decisions).
Tip: Ask the weekly-residence municipality in advance which documents are needed in your specific case. Some municipalities have their own registration form or questionnaire for weekly residents that must be submitted. In smaller municipalities, informal personal appearance with ID and home certificate may suffice, while cities like Zurich or Bern require additional information. Registration fees may also apply (often in the range of CHF 20–50, example Unterengstringen ZH: CHF 100).
After successful registration, you usually receive a residence confirmation from the municipality. This confirms your status as a weekly resident on site. Keep this document safe and it can be useful, e.g., with landlords or employers. Important: Don’t forget to deregister as soon as you end the weekly residence (e.g., due to moving your main residence or giving up the second apartment). Deregistration is again done at the residents’ registration office and ensures you do not maintain unnecessary double registrations.
Rights and duties as a weekly resident
As a weekly resident, you have particular rights and limitations, since you formally keep your main residence in another municipality:
Political rights: You exercise your voting rights exclusively at your main residence. You are not entitled to vote at the weekly residence because you do not hold citizenship there. Municipal assemblies or cantonal votes at the weekly location are not open to you. Your vote remains with your home municipality.
Tax domicile: Under civil (registration) law, you remain a resident of your main municipality. For tax purposes, however, a different place may be responsible. Municipalities often report weekly residents to the tax authorities, who then examine where your tax domicile lies. You are obliged to provide truthful information about your living circumstances. In case of doubt, you fill out questionnaires or clarifications are made with the other municipality.
Serafe fee: The radio and TV fee (Serafe) must be paid only once. As a weekly resident, you continue to pay this fee only for the main household. No additional Serafe is due for the second apartment at the place of work, since you as a single person or household are already registered. Inform Serafe if they erroneously send a second invoice and refer to the status as a secondary residence.
Health insurance: Your health insurer remains unchanged. In Switzerland, health insurance is mandatory per person, not per residence. You therefore do not need a second insurer at the weekly location. Your existing basic insurance (KVG) covers you nationwide. However, remember to notify the insurer of an address correction for correspondence if mail should be sent to the weekly address.
Vehicle and official mail: Your car or motorcycle remains registered at the main residence; a change of holder is not necessary as long as the civil residence remains the same. Only if you move your main residence must the vehicle registration document and license plates be adjusted. Official mail (debt collection notices, ballot papers, etc.) continues to be sent to the main-residence address and forward it if necessary or collect it regularly.
Debt collection extracts: If you need a debt collection extract to rent your second apartment (common for credit checks), you must request it from the debt collection office of your main residence. A debt collection extract is not required for registration as a weekly resident itself; it is more relevant for the landlord.
In summary, weekly residents continue to be considered inhabitants of their home municipality, with all rights and duties there. The weekly-residence location grants you a right of residence, but not full civic rights. Conversely, you must comply with the rules of the second municipality (e.g., renew residence confirmations when required) and report changes in your situation to both sides.
Taxes and weekly residence
A central issue is taxation: Where do you pay taxes as a weekly resident? The answer depends on your center of life. As a rule, you are taxed where your strongest personal and economic ties are—i.e., where your center of life is.
Unmarried persons: For single individuals, case law assumes that the center of life is at the weekly residence, because that is where they work and spend the night. This presumption can, however, be rebutted if you credibly demonstrate that you regularly spend your days off at the main location and have close family and social relationships there. Example: You live in Basel during the week, but drive every weekend to your parents and friends in Lucerne and you are strongly integrated there. Then the tax authorities might still consider Lucerne decisive. If, on the other hand, you maintain only weak ties at the home location, the place of work counts as the tax residence.
Married persons & families: For married weekly residents or those with children, the tax residence generally remains at the family residence, as that is seen as the center of life interests. If both spouses live away during the week, tax liability may in exceptional cases be split. Each spouse would then be taxed proportionally in the municipality where they work or predominantly stay. Such cases are complex and are decided individually by the cantonal tax authorities.
Tax-domicile procedure: If two cantons or municipalities cannot agree on where you are taxable (e.g., because both assert a claim), a residence procedure is initiated. In such a procedure, the cantonal tax administration examines your circumstances in detail (workplace, family’s place of residence, frequency of returning home, club memberships, etc.) and decides which place is your tax domicile. Until clarified, you usually continue paying taxes at the previous place. Double taxation is avoided. Tip: Keep documents that prove your time at the home location (e.g., GA/public transport tickets, a travel log) in case you need to demonstrate that you return regularly.
Tax deductions for weekly residents: An advantage of weekly-resident status appears in the tax return: certain additional costs due to maintaining two households may be deducted from your income.
Specifically, these are mainly:
Accommodation costs at the weekly location: The rent for your second apartment or room can be claimed proportionally. As a rule, expenses for two rooms are accepted. As a rule of thumb: if it is a single (furnished) room with bath/WC, you can usually deduct the full rent. For larger apartments, only part of the rent is recognized. Example: For a 2-room apartment in Zurich at CHF 2,000/month, the annual deduction is around CHF 8,000 (calculation: CHF 2,000 × 12 months ÷ 3 rooms = CHF 8,000). The exact calculation depends on the number of rooms and cantonal guidelines, but is often in this range.
Additional meal expenses: Since you must eat away from home on weekdays, you may deduct additional meal costs. The cantonal tax offices have set lump sums. For example, a maximum of CHF 6,400 per year is deductible if there is no cooking facility in the weekly apartment and the employer does not offer subsidized meals. If a kitchen is available or canteen meals are subsidized, the amount is reduced (often CHF 1,600–4,800, depending on the situation). These lump sums may vary slightly by canton, but are in similar ranges.
Trips home and commute: In addition, travel costs may be claimed. As a rule, one trip home to the main residence per week is tax-deductible. The most economical option is reimbursed, usually a 2nd-class public transport ticket. If public transport is unreasonable (more than 1 hour longer than by car), a private car trip may exceptionally be claimed. Besides the weekend trip home, daily travel from the weekly residence to the workplace can, of course, also be deducted as professional expenses (possibly limited by cantonal commuter allowances).
Withholding tax: For foreign weekly residents with a B or L permit, income tax is collected in the form of withholding tax, usually by the employer at the place of work. If your main residence is in another canton, withholding tax is generally remitted to the canton of residence. The balancing between cantons is handled by the tax authorities. In the international case (main residence abroad), the canton of work levies the withholding tax.
Cantonal differences and special features
Although the legal bases for weekly residence are largely uniform throughout Switzerland (registration requirement, tax law, etc.), in practice there are differences between the cantons and between the German- and French-speaking parts of Switzerland:
Reasonableness of daily return: Whether a weekly residence is approved depends, among other things, on whether daily commuting is considered unreasonable. Here, the cantons sometimes set their own criteria. Example St. Gallen: Returning to the home location is considered reasonable if the commute by public transport is under 45 minutes each way. Someone who works in St. Gallen and lives in Thurgau (40 minutes commuting time) would therefore have to return daily. A weekly residence would not be recognized. Example Schaffhausen: There is no fixed minute limit; however, daily return is expected if the place of work and residence are within the canton or the nearby agglomeration. Other cantons may have similar guidelines, which, in case of doubt, are reviewed by the residents’ registration office.
Cantonal registration rules: In some cantons, weekly residence is approved for a limited time. For example, many municipalities in Zurich handle weekly residence as a temporary residence permit that must be renewed periodically. The residents’ registration office may require a questionnaire and closely checks whether the conditions (place of work, return home, main residence out of canton, etc.) are met. Interesting: In Zurich, the term “weekly resident” is usually used in practice when the main residence is outside the canton. Those moving within Zurich generally register their main residence right away. This is not a must, however, weekly residences are also possible within a canton if objectively justified.
Romandie and Ticino: In French-speaking Switzerland, the term is “résidence hebdomadaire” or “séjour hebdomadaire,” in Italian “soggiorno settimanale.” The obligations are the same: register within 14 days, present a home certificate (certificat de domicile), etc. Some terms differ slightly, the Heimatausweis corresponds to the “attestation de domicile pour séjour hebdomadaire” in Romandie. Content and requirements remain analogous to German-speaking Switzerland. Authorities in Geneva or Vaud also ask for a rental contract and employment confirmation. Communication naturally takes place in the local language; it may be helpful to review forms in translation in advance if you are not fully proficient.
Administrative processes: Large cities such as Bern, Zurich, Geneva have specialized teams for weekly residents. They notify the tax office of the move-in and may conduct annual reviews. In the Canton of Bern, for example, the tax administration sends an annual questionnaire to registered weekly residents to determine whether the tax residence is still correct. Smaller municipalities proceed more informally; sometimes, after a few years, they inquire whether you now wish to move your main residence. In addition, a change is currently underway: thanks to new interlinked registers, the traditional home certificate may be abolished nationwide. Instead, notification via the electronic register is sufficient (some municipalities already implement this). Therefore, always check the current procedures in the respective canton.
In summary, it is worthwhile to look closely at the cantonal rules. Especially regarding reasonable commuting distances and the extension of weekly-residence permits. Most differences concern administrative practice rather than fundamental rights. If you are unsure, the local residents’ registration office can help.
International weekly residence
An international weekly resident is someone whose main residence is abroad and who lives in Switzerland during the week (e.g., for professional reasons). Unlike regular cross-border commuters, who return daily, daily return is unreasonable in the case of weekly residence e.g., because the distance is too great. Typically, international weekly residents live in Switzerland in a rental apartment or staff accommodation and travel to their home country every 1–2 weeks for the weekend.
Permit: Legally, this constellation is usually treated as a cross-border commuter with a special arrangement. Most cantons issue a cross-border commuter permit (permit G), even if the person does not commute daily. This permit entitles the person to stay in Switzerland during the week. Swiss citizens living abroad cannot register as weekly residents in the population register. Only a regular registration or, where applicable, a cross-border arrangement (if residing in a neighboring country) would be possible. An exception is Liechtenstein, where special agreements apply.
Withholding tax and insurance: International weekly residents are subject to Swiss withholding tax on their income. Regardless of citizenship or permanent residence permit. Even those with a Swiss passport or a C permit who have moved their fixed domicile abroad are taxed at source on income in Switzerland. This ensures that taxes are levied on those not regularly assessed. At the same time, the usual weekly-residence costs (housing, trips home, meals) can be considered in the withholding tax calculation. Regarding health insurance, in many EU countries cross-border commuters have a choice: they can either join Swiss health insurance or remain insured in their home country. Advice is worthwhile here, since factors such as existing insurance, benefits, and premium differences play a role.
Note: An international weekly residence should definitely be coordinated with the employer and the authorities. Employment-contract aspects (e.g., authorizations, residence status) and also AHV/social security contributions must be clarified. Usually you pay into AHV in Switzerland, since you are employed here, even if your residence is abroad. Coordination between Swiss and foreign bodies (tax office, social security) is more complex than with a national weekly residence, but is generally well regulated through bilateral agreements.
Frequently asked questions about weekly residence
1.) Who counts as a weekly resident?
You are considered a weekly resident if you spend nights at the place of work or study on working days and regularly return to your main residence on days off (weekends). In short: living away during the week, but the center of life remains at home.
2.) Do I have to register the weekly residence?
Yes. Any longer-term secondary residence is subject to registration. You must register as a weekly resident with the municipality at the weekly location within 14 days. No registration is required for stays under 3 months.
3.) Where do I pay taxes as a weekly resident?
Generally in the municipality where your center of life is located. For singles, the workplace is presumed to be decisive; for married persons, usually the family residence. In case of doubt, the tax office decides after review.
4.) Do I pay taxes or Serafe twice?
No. You are taxed only once per year. Either by the main-residence municipality or by the weekly location (not both). The Serafe fee is due only for the main residence, not for second homes.
5.) Can I live in two places without moving?
Yes, that is exactly what weekly residence is. Your official residence remains at place A, but you may temporarily live at place B. However, you do not acquire civic rights there and remain entitled to vote at place A. If place B becomes the new center of life, you should change your main residence.
6.) Which documents do I need for registration?
At a minimum, a home certificate from your main municipality and an ID (ID/passport). Often also required are the rental agreement, proof of work/studies, and possibly a completed questionnaire. Check with the municipality to ensure you have everything needed.
7.) How much does a weekly residence cost?
Registration itself costs a fee depending on the municipality (e.g., CHF 20–100). Financially, you will incur double housing costs (main and secondary apartment) as well as higher weekday living costs. In return, you can deduct these additional costs for tax purposes (housing, travel, meals). All in all, a weekly residence often pays off only if the professional opportunity justifies the extra effort.
8.) Can I be a weekly resident as a foreign national?
Yes, if you have a Swiss residence permit (B, L) with a main residence in Switzerland, you can register a weekly residence in another canton analogously to Swiss citizens. If your main residence remains abroad (cross-border commuter), you need a G permit and are considered an international weekly resident for tax purposes. The modalities then differ somewhat.
